Solving the ongoing challenge of how to test potential liver disease drugs before experimenting on humans, Salk Institute researchers have perfected a system where medications can be tested in mice with mostly human livers.
Mouse With Human Liver: New Model for Treatment of Liver Disease
ScienceDaily (Feb. 23, 2010) — How do you study-and try to cure in the laboratory-an infection that only humans can get? A team led by Salk Institute researchers does it by generating a mouse with an almost completely human liver. This “humanized” mouse is susceptible to human liver infections and responds to human drug treatments, providing a new way to test novel therapies for debilitating human liver diseases and other diseases with liver involvement such as malaria.
The recording industry isn’t seeing the best of days, at least that’s what it keeps saying. The latest numbers coming from official sources show that, maybe, things aren’t so bad as they’d like everyone to believe. Media giant Vivendi has released its financial results for 2009 and nestled in there are some stats about its music division, Unive… (read more)
Thanks to research from Duke University’s Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy, scientists have confirmed that some individuals have genetic protection against ribavirin-induced anemia. Since ribavirin is part of the standard Hepatitis C treatment protocol, this discovery will better enable physicians to foretell who can best withstand Hepatitis C therapy.
Enzyme Deficiency Protects Hepatitis C Patients from Treatment-Related Anemia
ScienceDaily (Feb. 24, 2010) — Many people who undergo treatment for hepatitis C develop hemolytic anemia, a disorder that destroys red blood cells. In some cases, it is so severe they have to reduce their medication or stop therapy altogether. But now, scientists in Duke University’s Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy (IGSP) have discovered two genetic alterations linked to a benign enzyme condition that keep some patients anemia-free.
“Let’s face it, she was never right for the job. Traditional White House social secretaries are behind the scenes, detail-oriented worker bees who toil from dawn to dusk polishing guest lists, overseeing menus, and delicately smoothing over last-minute catastrophes. The highly visible and glamorous former corporate executive could never play that role. With her trendy designer clothes and penchant for publicity, she was determined to be a star, and simply too high-profile and too in your face.”
McElwaine’s article also speculates the demise of the Social Secretary.
When the news of her resignation broke Friday, many speculated that a fight between Desiree, presidential adviser Valerie Jarrett (who was still furious over the Indian State Dinner debacle), and Michelle Obama’s chief of staff Susan Sher expedited her departure. The three women were friends and lived in the same Georgetown apartment building. Apparently, they battled over East Wing turf. “I think this is a good time for me to explore opportunities in the corporate world,” Rogers told the Chicago Sun-Times Friday.
Her article ends with a compelling synopsis of the entire spectacle.
It’s hard to tell whose hand wielded the dagger in this particular caper. As a White House reporter reflected, “I think the real reason is that she wasn’t a good fit, not used to being an underling. In Chicago, Desiree was the queen bee—a CEO and social powerhouse—and the Obamas were just that nice young couple from the South Side.”
As outsiders, we may never know how everything truly went down with Desiree stepping down. No matter how you felt about Ms. Rogers, it is still sad to see a seemingly stalwart, professional Black woman cut down from a pivotal appointment in an historic presidential administration. Posted by Bridgette of http://trailblazer-firstlady.blogspot.com. Photo courtesy of Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP Photo
The Neo Geo console turns 20 this year, and while the PSN’s still having problems, it seems Sony and SNK may have plans of teaming up to put some Neo Geo titles on the network’s Classics service.
The Ford Fiesta, no stranger to being popular, has already gained more than 6,000 reservations in the United States, with half of the coming from customers who never owned a Ford. A large part of the credit for that goes to Ford’s Fiesta Movement, a social media initiative designed to generate excitement about the new compact Fiesta.
The first Fiesta Movement generated more than 6.2 million YouTube views, more than 750,000 Flickr views and nearly 4 million Twitter impressions. The movement also set the Guinness World Record for the most attendees at a tweetup during the Fiesta Movement Awards Celebration in West Hollywood in December at the 2009 LA Auto Show.
To keep the momentum going, Ford is now launching the Fiesta Movement Chapter 2.
“This was a natural progression from the first phase of the Fiesta Movement,” said Connie Fontaine, Ford Brand Content and Alliances manager. “Chapter 2 will still be rooted in social media, but this time the content will also live offline and find its way into new mediums. Fiesta needs to clearly be the star now as the agents share their work within their communities and beyond.”
20 teams of two agents will be bringing the 2011 Fiesta on a journey through missions inspired by the compact Ford and will use social media to tell their story.
The 2011 Ford Fiesta hits dealerships this summer.
Refresher: The 2011 Ford Fiesta is powered by a 1.6L DOHC 4-cylinder engine making 119-hp with a peak torque of 109 lb-ft. It is estimated to deliver best-in-class highway fuel economy of 40 mpg. Pricing for the 2011 Ford Fiesta starts at $13,320.
2011 Ford Fiesta:
NEW SET OF AGENTS TEAM UP TO BRING FORD FIESTA LOCAL WITH FIESTA MOVEMENT CHAPTER 2
* Fiesta Movement Chapter 2 kicks off with 20 teams of two agents each bringing the new 2011 Fiesta to life through missions inspired by Ford’s new small car
* Missions will be centered around where the teams live, with agents tapping into their local communities to help execute and promote missions
* The 2011 Ford Fiesta goes on sale this summer offering projected best-in-class highway fuel economy of 40 mpg, 15 class-exclusive technologies and personalization, all in a small car package
Dearborn, Mich., March 1, 2010 – Ford’s Fiesta Movement, a social media initiative designed to create excitement about the new Fiesta, put the new small car on the minds of thousands of people nationwide. It is now moving to its second chapter, this time enlisting 40 people to tell the story of Ford’s newest car in 16 cities across the country.
Culled from more than 1,000 applications, Fiesta Movement Chapter 2 consists of 20 teams comprised of two agents each. Their mission will be to redefine the way Fiesta is brought to market by interacting with consumers online and offline, while bringing Fiesta to their communities.
The first Fiesta Movement generated more than 6.2 million YouTube views, more than 750,000 Flickr views and nearly 4 million Twitter impressions. The Fiesta Movement also set a Guinness World Record for the most attendees at a tweetup during the Fiesta Movement Awards Celebration in West Hollywood in December. This unprecedented event brought together 1,149 Fiesta Movement agents and Twitter friends.
Telling the story, locally Agents will complete a series of missions, where they will compete in challenges locally that leverage the best of their communities, allowing them to open the discussion about Fiesta through social media and beyond.
After completing a challenge, agents will produce and place the creative content online at www.fiestamovement.com, where followers also can keep up with their favorite agents. The best content will be recognized based on online consumer interaction and consumers’ opinions about the agents’ work, and will be amplified in local media and events as well as through a variety of national mediums.
One of the missions is called “Show the World UR Personality,” where agents will design their Fiesta wrap, working with designers to create a wrap that fits their team’s personality. Their personalized Fiesta will be delivered to the agent team, and the best wrap, as voted on by the fans on www.fiestamovement.com, will later be available to consumers. Additionally, the winning wrap will be integrated into a future national Fiesta display.
Followers of Fiesta Movement Chapter 2 will play a pivotal role in this adventure, by checking in with their favorite agent team, snapping a picture of the content they saw on the streets or commenting on what the agents post to social media sites.
“Essentially, the agents will be introducing Fiesta to their communities, with local culture driving the content they create,” said Fontaine. “There will be unique opportunities for consumers to actively engage and follow along with the agent teams in their area.”
Agents were selected based on entrepreneurial spirit, strong, continued local connections, social vibrancy and creative vision. The agent teams are located in major markets, including Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Detroit, Philadelphia, Boston, Denver, San Diego, Dallas, Houston, Seattle, Orlando, Phoenix, Atlanta and Miami.
Fiesta has it all – and more Going on sale this summer, the all-new Ford Fiesta features an expressive, vibrant design, sharp reflexes, and a global track record that will redefine U.S. small car customers’ expectations. With 15 class-exclusive technologies and a projected best-in-class highway fuel economy of 40 mpg, Fiesta brings efficiency and convenience together in one package.
Fiesta is designed to be versatile, personal and adaptable. In fact, Fiesta is expected to deliver best-in-class convenience and connectivity with Ford’s segment-exclusive SYNC® voice-activated communications system, as well as an expressive color palette and available graphics.
Already more than 6,000 consumers have made reservations for the Ford Fiesta – half of them from non-Ford customers – and more than 100,000 handraisers are showing an interest in the new fuel-efficient car. Customers can place their order for the new Fiesta today through their local Ford dealer.
Two people were injured when an Illinois Department of Transportation truck was struck from behind on the Dan Ryan Expressway early Monday, Illinois State Police said.
The collision happened about 5:45 a.m. on the southbound Dan Ryan at 27th street, state police said.
Both the driver of the IDOT vehicle and the driver of the other car were injured and taken to unidentified hospitals, state police said.
A Park Forest man is dead and another man is in critical condition after being struck by a pickup truck early Sunday in Lynwood.
The driver of the pickup is in custody but no charges have been filed.
Police responded about 2:15 a.m. to an incident at 2030 Glenwood Dyer Road — the Lynwood Sports Center — and found two people struck by a pickup truck, Lynwood police said.
Devon Walker, 22, of Park Forest, was dead on the scene, the Cook County medical examiner’s office said. The second man was taken to an unidentified hospital in critical but stable condition, police said.
Witnesses told police a white Ford pickup truck fled west on Glenwood Dyer Road after striking the pedestrians. With help from a witness, police stopped the truck by Interstates 94/294 and Illinois 394 near Lansing, about five miles south of the crash.
The driver was taken was taken into custody and later to a local hospital, police said. Charges have not been announced.
The South Suburban Major Accident Reconstruction Team are investigating with help from the Lynwood police and fire departments, Sauk Village, Thornton and Steger police.
KNOX, Ind. (AP) — Authorities say an intentional fire at a northern Indiana jail prompted inmates to be removed and sent to other jails.
No injuries were reported from the fire Sunday night at the Starke County Jail. The sheriff’s department says inmates broke a light fixture and stuffed toilet paper into it to start the fire.
The department says the fire caused minimal damages.
Inmates were transferred to jails in nearby counties until the jail could be fully inspected.
CHICAGO (AP) — Peerless Industries, a manufacturer of audiovisual mounting solutions, plans to stay in Illinois and add at least 85 new jobs to its 405-person work force over the next three years.
Peerless will move from two campuses in Melrose Park to a single larger facility in Aurora beginning in May. Illinois provided a $2.9 million investment package to leverage nearly $17.5 million in private investment to facilitate the move.
Gov. Pat Quinn says losing the company to an out-of-state location would have put hundreds of people out of work.
The company’s relocation follows a decision last year to return all manufacturing jobs to the United States after four years during which 30 percent of the company’s products were produced in China.
Put ‘Global Warming’ into Google, let alone Wikipedia, and you will be offered, as ‘settled fact’, the ‘full throttle’ version of the theory of man-made global warming, as advanced by certain scientists and green groups. And you will find almost no references to any of the sceptical scientists, or philosophical critiques of the theory.
Martin Cohen, a writer on philosophy and science, thought this was odd and conducted an experiment to see what would happen if references to some of the ‘other side’ of the Global Warming debate were introduced.
What he found out is recorded here.His conclusion is that it is impossible to place on Wikipedia, for the record, ‘other views’, or ‘dissenting voices’ even those including, as they certainly do, many distinguished scientists, professors and IPCC authors.
After his investigation, Cohen came to see Wikipedia not even pretending to be neutral, but rather content to be dangerous propaganda delivered by anonymous non-entities. This was a point he put to Jimmy Wales, WIkipedia’s nominal supervisor. But Wales was having none of it, instead saying “There exists a long line of people who, when their extremist agenda is not accepted into Wikipedia, accuse the community of bias.”
Click source link to read FULL report by Martin Cohen
New York Times: Government officials here are reviewing the safety of a geothermal energy project that scientists say set off an earthquake in mid-August, shaking buildings and frightening many residents of this small city.
The geothermal plant, built by Geox, a German energy company, extracts heat by drilling deep into the earth. Advocates of the method say that it could greatly reduce the world’s dependence on fossil fuels by providing a vast supply of renewable energy.
But in recent months, two similar projects have stirred concerns about their safety and their propensity to cause earthquakes. In the United States, the Energy Department is scrutinizing a project in Northern California run by AltaRock Energy to determine if it is safe. (The project was shut down by the company last month because of crippling technical problems.) Another project, in Basel, Switzerland, was shut down after it generated earthquakes in 2006 and 2007 and is awaiting the decision of a panel of experts about whether it can resume.
The Landau project will be allowed to continue operating while the review panel, which held its first meeting last Friday, deliberates. Geox officials initially denied any responsibility for the temblor and continue to dispute the government’s data linking the project to the quake. The panel will, among other things, have to sort through the conflicting data presented by the company and government scientists.
But some experts in the field say they worry that projects like the one in Germany, if the managers deny responsibility for inducing earthquakes or play down the effects on people’s lives, could damage the reputation of geothermal energy, even in highly environmentally conscious areas of the world like California or Western Europe.
“My concern is that the project leaders for different geothermal projects are about to waste public confidence as long as they don’t talk openly about the seismic risks involved in their projects,” said Rudolf Braun, who is the leader of the Basel study and is following events in Landau.
Like other earthquakes that have been attributed to geothermal plants, the Landau temblor was sudden and brief and was accompanied by a sound that in some cases has been likened to a sonic boom. There were no injuries and there was no known structural damage to buildings in the city. But the 2.7 magnitude quake has stoked fears and set off debate in the state Parliament, which subsidized the construction of the plant, about the method’s safety.
Witnesses due to appear before the select committee, clockwise, from top left: Richard Thomas, Professor John Beddington, Professor Julia Slingo, Professor Phil Jones, Lord Lawson of Blaby, Professor Edward Acton, Professor Bob Watson and Dr Benny Peiser. Photograph: guardian.co.uk
Scientists Phil Jones and John Beddington and sceptics Nigel Lawson and Benny Peiser among those giving evidence
Follow the science and technology select committee in our live blog starting at 3pm today
The climate scientist at the centre of a media storm over private emails released on to the internet will face his first public questions on the affair today when he appears before a parliamentary committee.
The science and technology select committee is expected to ask Phil Jones, head of the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia, to explain emails that critics claim show he manipulated data and censored research.
It will be the first time Jones has appeared in public since the emails were released in November. He will also be asked about correspondence that appears to show a reluctance to share data with critics under Freedom of Information requests.
Here is something random to start off your Monday. Being sold in the Nurburgring fan shop is this €29.90 ($40.44 USD) toaster that toasts your bread with a picture of the Nordschleife on it.
Of course others at your place of living may not understand how cool this is as you drink a glass of OJ and bite around the shape of the most famous track in the world.
Environmental News Network: The major earthquake that struck Haiti Tuesday may have shocked a region unaccustomed to such temblors, but the devastating quake was not unusual in that it was caused by the same forces that generate earthquakes the world over. In this case, the shaking was triggered by much the same mechanism that shakes cities along California’s San Andreas fault.
The 7.0-magnitude Haiti earthquake would be a strong, potentially destructive earthquake anywhere, but it is an unusually strong event for Haiti, with even more potential destructive impact because of the weak infrastructure of the impoverished nation.
Earthquakes typically occur along the jigsaw-puzzle pieces of Earth’s crust, called plates, which move relative to one another, most of the time at an imperceptibly slow pace. In the case of the Haiti quake, the Caribbean and North American plates slide past one another in an east-west direction. This is known as a strike-slip boundary.
Split/Second is a racer, sure, but according to developer Black Rock it has more in common with games like Modern Warfare 2 and Uncharted 2 than other racing games.
The Washington Times: However, he said the MIT study, which was funded by the Department of Energy, serves as a basis for studying the idea further.
Major energy companies, including Chevron Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp. and American Electric Power, told the AP they are following the research but not investing in it.
“This is an interesting technology for Chevron, and we are currently evaluating its potential,” said spokesman Alexander Yelland.
In Basel, the first shaft was bored last year by a 190-foot-tall drilling rig towering above nearby apartment buildings. Water was pumped down the injection well in the test phase in December, and as expected, it heated to above 390 degrees Fahrenheit as it seeped through the layers of rock below.
But that’s where the water remains for the time being; it caused the rock layers to slip, causing the tremors and rumbles that spooked the townspeople.
Geopower Basel had forecast some rock slippage. In fact, it said the location on top of a fault line — the upper Rhine trench — was an advantage because it meant the heat was closer to the Earth’s surface.
But with $51 million already spent, drilling stopped and the official launch date was moved back from 2009 to 2012.
Still to be drilled are the two wells that would suck the pressurized, superheated water out of the cracks and up to the surface to create steam for driving a turbine and generating electricity. The water, having cooled to about 340 degrees Fahrenheit, would heat hospitals, public buildings and homes before being pumped back into the ground for another waste-free, gas-free cycle.
At the moment I’ve got 1,303 items in the trash bin in my OS X Dock — not that much compared to the usual pile that accumulates there when my normal maintenance has me only cleaning it out once every couple of months. Usually, it’s not a problem. Occasionally, though, I’ll throw something away by mistake, at which point I’m reminded that you can’t just click on the bin and search through the trash like you can with other folders in your Dock.
It may sound like a small annoyance, but if I’m digging through the trash, it’s because I really need to find that thing I tossed out. Without a chance to search for it I’m left with no other option but to browse through a pile of files that typically number in the thousands. All this turns a small annoyance into a rather large one. There’s got to be a better way to deal with all this Trash.
Ordinarily when searching for files in the Finder you can choose to limit the scope of your search to the current folder by selecting it from the search bar. This is a big help when you know the file you want is somewhere in this folder, but you’re not entirely sure what its name is.
But trying this approach after clicking on the trash icon leaves you searching the entire system with no way to limit your scope. I suppose I could just do a better job regularly taking out the trash — this would leave me with fewer files to browse through when the time comes — but I know myself and that’s just not going to happen. Another option would be to write a script to handle trash maintenance, but that might just make a bad problem worse if my script gets rid of something I accidentally threw away before I have a chance to retrieve it.
The best solution, it seems, is also the easiest one. I use “Go To Folder” in the finder to navigate to the otherwise hidden trash directory at ~/.Trash and drag that folder into the Dock. Now when I accidentally throw something away I won’t have to browse through thousands of items looking for the lone needle in the haystack. I can just use .Trash to limit my search scope as I would with any other directory in the system.
The relentless run-up to the Audi A1‘s official introduction at the Geneva Motor Show continues unabated, this time with a video of Markus Winkelhock taking the A1 for a spin around Audi’s test track in Neustadt, Germany.
The current DTM pilot for Audi gushes about the A1’s communicative steering and compliant suspension, while Dr. Horst Glaser, Audi’s Head of Chassis Development, hypes up the lightweight construction and quick 14.8:1 steering ratio. It’s not the most compelling video, but it’s nice to see the premium hatch finally on the road. And we’ve got to admit that the A1 looks noticeably better blacked out, without the slightly contrived aluminum roof trim. See for yourself after the jump.
Mass migration northwards to new towns in Scotland, Wales and northeast England may be needed to cope with climate change and water shortages in the South East, according to an apocalyptic vision set out by the Government Office for Science.
Heathrow would be converted into a giant reservoir by 2035, there could be severe restrictions on flying and driving and farmers would be forced to sell their land to giant agricultural businesses. Greenhouse gas emissions would be controlled by carbon rationing for individuals, which would lead to “significant shifts in lifestyle as everyone tries to stay within budget”.
The Government would ease pressure on the South East by planning to “disperse citizens to three new towns in Dumfries and Galloway, Northumberland and Powys”.
The vision is published today in a report entitled Land Use Futures: Making the Most of Land in the 21st Century. John Beddington, the Government’s chief scientific adviser, who directed the research, said that climate change and the growing population would present Britain with difficult choices about how it used its land.
Click source to read more of this summary by Ben Webster. According to this article Britain is planning for migration due to the world becoming warmer, bizarrely for the last decade the world has become cooler. [click above link to read FULL report, PDF download], what are these guys on!!!!
The recording industry isn’t seeing the best of days, at least that’s what it keeps saying. The latest numbers coming from official sources show that, maybe, things aren’t so bad as they’d like everyone to believe. Media giant Vivendi has released its financial results for 2009 and nestled in there are some stats about its music division, Unive… (
